Road striper



Sept. 15 1964 R. W. WILSON ETAL ROAD STRIPER Filed April 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FLCLl.

INVENTORS RUFUS w. WILSON awn?) 'M.CARRUTHER3 KARL u). FLOCKS A TTOR/VE' Y Se t. 15, 1964 R, w. WILSON ETAL 3,148,833

ROAD STRIPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25, 1962 FIG. 3

F 1G;4C.1NVENTORS RUFUS W. WILSON JAME8 M.CARRUTHERS KARL. h). F'QocKs 'ATTORAEY FIG-1.2-

P 1964 R. w. WILSON ETAL ROAD STRIPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 25, 1962 INVENTORS RUFUS W. WLLSON HJQMES M.CARRUTHERS EARL. LOTF-IocKs ZTTORME? P 1964 R. w. WILSON ETAL 3,148,833

ROAD STRIPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 25, 1962 INVENTORS RUFUS w. WILSON {JAMES M. CARRUTHERS A TTORNEY United States Patent 3,148,833 ROAD STREER Rufus W. Wilson, Huntingtlon, and .Iames M. Carruthers, Mount Union, Pa., assignors to Wald Industries, Inc., Huntingdon, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 190,073 3 Claims. (Cl. 239150) The present invention relates to a road striping machine and more particularly to a mobile unit having an improved retractable mechanism adapted for carrying a spray gun or the like transversely to the line of travel of the mobile unit.

The outstanding advantage of the novel machine resides in the versatility of the apparatus to attain wide working distances and also allow the apparatus to be collapsible within the legal confines of the truck bed width through the use of simple power driven extendable and retractable means.

With the arrangement of the mechanism of the present invention it is possible to provide versatility of operation and perform jobs usually requiring separate machines and to perform these different jobs with case without complicated adjustments of the mechanism for each job.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a device operable-in and out transversely to the line of travel of the mobile unit.

Also it is an object of this invention to provide a device which is operable up and down in addition to the in and out motion transverse to the line of travel of the mobile unit.

Basically the present invention provides a mobile unit wherein a spray gun emitting a confined spray is mounted on a carriage which may be extended or retracted and raised or lowered through the use of a screw device and a parallel motion mechanism.

The above and other advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent upon full consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a road striper machine having a spray gun carriage incorporating the present invention;

FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, 4B and 4C show various operations permitted with a road striper incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a top plan view of the telescoping apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top front perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a gear train section view at an overlapping point of three telescoping sections;

FIG. 8 is a modification of the screw mechanism shown in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are front and side elevation views respectively of the carriage for the telescoping apparatus shown in rear perspective in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 is a section view along line 11--11 of FIG. 10.

Referring first to FIG. 1 there is shown in a rear perspective view a road striper comprising a motor truck 100 carrying paint spraying equipment for road striping comprising a conventional compressor and power bank (not visible in this view), paint tanks 202, and control mechanism 207 suitably connected. To the rear of motor truck 100 is a trailer 101 having seats 108 and controls 107 thereon for the operation of the paint sprayer incorporating the present invention. Mounted so as to extend transversely to the direction of travel of motor truck 100 is telescoping mechanism 102 carrying carriage 103 on its outer end. Carriage 103 is shown in solid lines in an extended position and in dotted outline in a fully retracted and raised position concealed within the overall Width of the truck chassis. In the retracted position the motor truck may travel by high speed transit since there are no side obstructions to hinder road travel through traffic.

Spray gun 104 is mounted on carriage 103 and attached to paint spray equipment on motor truck 100 through hoses 105. A spray of substantially constant and confined width is obtained with a typicalwidth of such sprayed lines being between four to six inches on roads in the United States.

In FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, 4B and 4C are shown various possible ways in which the apparatus of the present invention may be utilized.

FIG. 2 shows motor truck 100 with a conventional compressor and power bank 201, paint tanks 202, pointer or optical sight 203, and a conventional left side striping carriage 2.04. Combined with this conventional apparatus is telescoping mechanism 102 and carriage 103 of the present invention. Trailer 101 may or may not be used in conjunction with carriage 103 and is only shown in FIG. 1. Using both carriage 103 with telescoping mechanism 102 and conventional left side striping carriage 204, a berm line 205 may be laid simultaneously with centerline 206 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Because of the telescoping mechanism 102 the width of the traffic lane may be varied to fit the individual type of highway.

As motor truck 100 moves along the road and encounters a bridge illustratedin FIG. 3, truck 100 and conventional left side striping carriage 204 maintain their relative positions to centerline 206 while telescoping mechanism 102 is partially retracted along the path of a tangent to clear the bridge abutment and either end berm line 205 at abutment 301 shown by extension 302 of the berm line or continue berm line 205 across the bridge as illustrated by portion 303 of the berm line.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate uses of telescoping mechanism 102 and carriage 103 used alone without left side sprayer carriage 204 in parking or zoning areas. FIG. 4A shows the striping of a curb 401 where carriage 103 may be retracted where necessary at parking meters 402, utility poles, and mail boxes through the motion of telescoping mechanism 102. FIG. 4B shows the same mechanism used in the striping of an outside stall barrier line 403. FIG. 4C shows the transverse striping of individual parking stalls with line 404. Motor truck 100 stands still while the spray gun 104 mounted on carriage 103 is moved by telescoping mechanism 102 along a transverse direction thereby spraying line 404 between outside stall barrier line 403 and curb line 401. Carriage 103 may then be pneumatically raised and retracted while the truck progresses forward.

One embodiment of telescoping mechanism 102 is shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. FIGS. 5 and 6 show a top plan view and a perspective view respectively of mechanism 102. In the embodiment shown, mechanism 102 has a fixed section 501 connected to the chassis of motor truck 100, an intermediate section 502 slidable within fixed section 501, and a box section 503 slidable within intermediate section 502. Sections 501 and 502 are channels connected by cross bars 504 and 505 at the top of sections 501 and 502 respectively. Welded onto channel 501 and spaced along the top length are blocks 514 through which are mounted laterally positioned shafts 506. Shafts 506 are held against rotation by set screws 515. Lateral tie bars are thus formed upon which rollers 516 may rotate. The rollers 516 formed of a longer central section 516a and shorter end section 516b help guide and reduce friction to enable the telescoping action of box section 503 and channel section 502 respectively, in

3 section 501. Rollers 517 and 518 supported by rods through blocks 519 and 520 respectively are placed at the bottom of the outer ends of channels 501 and 502 re spectively in order to aid the support and telescoping action of sections 502 and 503 respectively. Also mounted on fixed section 501 for guiding and aiding the movement of intermediate section 502 in relation to fixed section 501 are radial ball bearings 507. Bearings 507 are attached to section 501 and roll against section 502. In a similar manner, radial ball bearings 508 are attached to section 502 and roll against section 503 while guiding and aiding the movement of section 503.

In order that an outward or inward movement of box section 503 cause a correspondingly proportional movement of intermediate section 502, gears 509 are mounted as shown in FIG. 5 and in the detail sectional view of FIG. 7. Gear 509 is horizontally positioned and rotatably mounted on intermediate section 502 and meshes with rack 701 attached to fixed section 501 and rack 703 attached to box section 503.

A screw 510 passing through internally threaded block 511 into piping 512 and rotated at its opposite end by electric motor 513, or other means, such as air motors, causes the inward and outward movement of box section 503 in relation to fixed section 501. Through racks 701 and 703 this movement rotates gears 509 and causes them to walk along the direction of movement of box section 503 and thereby move intermediate section 502 to which they are attached, in the same direction. Through the use of gears mounted in the manner of gears 509 additional sections may be added and therefore the apparatus is not limited to the three section embodiment illustrated.

In addition, a further modification which allows greater extendability of the telescoping mechanism 102 is the use of a duplex screw such as illustrated in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, screw 801, which is attached to a retating means mounted on a fixed section, is threaded into screw 802 which is both internally and externally threaded. The external threads of screw 802 are threaded into internally threaded block 805 which rides freely between angle members 804 which are stabilizers for block 805 and are welded to box section 803. Threaded block 805 is welded to tube 312 into which screw 802 extends. In operation of the duplex screw, when screw 801 can no longer rotate in screw 302 due to reaching a stop (not shown) then screw 802 rotates in block 804 and continues the movement of box section 803 until its limit is reached. Thus, it can be seen a greater extension of the telescoping mechanism is permitted while still allowing retraction of all sections within the motor truck width. Combining the use of additional sections with the use of duplex screws allows greater extensional length of travel of telescoping section 102 and carriage 103 and is considered among embodiments of this invention.

Mounted on the free end of the farthest extending section of telescoping mechanism 102 is carriage 103 for positioning spray gun 104. Carriage 103 as shown in detail in FIGS. 9 and 10 has pneumatically operated parallel motion members for raising and lowering the carriage and associated spray gun equipment.

Plate 901 attached to the free end of box section 503 has parallel arms 902 and 903 attached to plate 901 at pivot points 904 and 905 respectively. Also connected to plate 901 is pneumatic device 906 having extension arm 907. Connecting the lower ends of parallel arms 902 and 903 is cross arm 908 connected pivotally at points 909 and 910. An example of the pivotal connections is shown by FIG. 11 which is a view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10. Connected to cross arm 908 is guide wheel 911 on swivel connection 912. On the opposite end of cross arm 908 and on arm 913 there is mounted the spray gun equipment 104 which is not shown in these views in order to be able to depict the carriage mechanism with more clarity.

In FIG. 9 and in the solid lines of FIG. 10 the carriage is shown in its down and operating position. In this position, extension arm 907 of pneumatic device 906 is extended. When it is desired to raise the carriage for retraction toward the motor truck for rapid transit road conditions, pneumatic device 906 is operated through hoses not shown in these views to retract extension arm 907, thereby pivoting arm 903 about point 905 and through pivotal connections with arm 908 causing arm 902 to pivot about point 904. The parallel motion mechanism formed by these interconnecting arms thus acts to raise wheel 911 and spray gun mechanism on carriage 103 into the position shown in dotted outline in FIG. 10. The carriage and equipment mounted thereon may then be retracted toward motor truck 100 by telescoping mechanism 102.

It should be noted that the device of the present invention may have several embodiments which are easily adaptable to remote control by pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, or manual means.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A road striping machine of the type used to lay down center lines, lane lines and road margin defining lines on highways, and lines on the highway varying in distance from a base line along the length of the highway comprising a wheeled road vehicle for travel upon a highway adapted to travel in a general given direction, marking material supply equipment mounted on said vehicle containing marking material therein, a marking material discharge means emitting a confined spray connected to said marking material supply equipment and travelling in the same direction generally parallel to the travel of said wheeled road vehicle while discharging said marking material, and ground supported telescopic screw means supported on the ground at least during operation of said discharge means and supportingly connecting said discharge means to said vehicle whereby said vehicle may travel down one lane of a highway and mark either the center lane or a lane line or a margin defining line generally parallel to the path of travel of said vehicle, said ground supported telescopic screw means including a fixed section attached to said wheeled vehicle, a first movable section guided within said fixed section, a second movable section supported and guided within said first movable section, a first guiding and supporting means on said fixed section, a second guiding and supporting means on said second movable section, an intermediate means located in operational relation with said first and said second guiding and supporting means whereby movement of said second movable section causes movement of said first movable section in the same direction, a first screw means operatively connected to said fixed section, means to rotate said first screw means, a second screw means internally threaded to receive said first screw means, and internally threaded means receiving said second screw means in operative relationship with said second movable section.

2. A road striping machine for laying down center lines, lane lines, and road margin defining lines on highways, and lines on the highway varying in distance from a base line along the length of the highway comprising a wheeled road vehicle for travel upon a highway adapted to travel in a general given direction, marking material supply equipment mounted on said vehicle containing marking material therein, a marking material discharge means emitting a confined spray connected to said marking material supply equipment and travelling in the same direction generally parallel to the travel of said wheeled road vehicle while discharging said marking material, ground supported telescoping means supported on the ground at least during operation of said discharge means and supportingly connecting said discharge means to said vehicle whereby said vehicle may travel down one lane of a highway and mark either the center lane or a lane line or a margin defining line generally parallel to the path of travel of said vehicle, said telescoping means including a fixed section attached to said wheeled vehicle, extensible means slidably attached to said fixed section, supporting and guiding means in addition to the walls of said fixed section and said extensible means for supporting the movement of said extensible means in relation to said fixed section, and screw means including a member having internal and external threads for controlling the extension and retraction of said extensible means in relation to said fixed section.

3. A road striping machine of the type used to lay down center lines, lane lines, and road margin defining lines on highways, and lines on the highway varying in distance from a base line along the length of the highway comprising a wheeled road vehicle for travel upon a highway adapted to travel in a general given direction, marking material supply equipment mounted on said vehicle containing marking material therein, a marking material discharge means emitting a confined spray connected to said marking material supply equipment and travelling in the same direction generally parallel to the travel of said wheeled road vehicle While discharging said marking material, and ground supported telescopic screw means supportingly supported on the ground at least during operation of said discharge means and connecting said discharge means to said vehicle whereby said vehicle may travel down one lane of a highway and mark either the center lane or a lane line or a margin defining line generally parallel to the path of travel of said vehicle, said ground supported telescopic screw means including a fixed section attached to said Wheeled vehicle, a'first movable section slidable within said fixed section, a second movable section slidable within said first movable section, a first rack mounted on said fixed section, a second rack mounted on said second movable section, a gear rotatably mounted on said first movable section meshed in operational position with said first and said second racks whereby movement of said second movable section causes movement of said first movable section in the same direction, a first screw means operatively connected to said fixed section, means to rotate said first screw means, a second screw means internally threaded to receive said first screw means, and internally threaded means receiving said second screw means in operative relationship with said second movable section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 982,625 Mitchell et al Ian. 24, 1911 2,875,979 Shafier Mar. 21, 1961 3,019,913 Bowman Feb. 6, 1962 

2. A ROAD STRIPING MACHINE FOR LAYING DOWN CENTERLINES, LANE LINES, AND ROAD MARGING DEFINING LINES ON HIGHWAYS, AND LINES ON THE HIGHWAY VARYING IN DISTANCE FROM A BASE LINE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE HIGHWAY COMPRISING A WHEELED ROAD VEHICLE FOR TRAVEL UPON A HIGHWAY ADAPTED TO TRAVEL IN A GENERAL GIVEN DIRECTION, MARKING MATERIAL SUPPLY EQUIPMENT MOUNTED ON SAID VEHICLE CONTAINING MARKING MATERIAL THEREIN, A MARKING MATERIAL DISCHARGE MEANS EMITTING A CONFINED SPRAY CONNECTED TO SAID MARKING MATERIAL SUPPLY EQUIPMENT AND TRAVELLING IN THE SAME DIRECTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE TRAVEL OF SAID WHEELED ROAD VEHICLE WHILE DISCHARGING SAID MARKING MATERIAL, GROUND SUPPORTED TELESCOPING MEANS SUPPORTED ON THE GROUND AT LEAST DURING OPERATION OF SAID DISCHARGE MEANS AND SUPPORTINGLY CONNECTING SAID DISCHARGE MEANS TO SAID 